Ted Danson

Actor Ted Danson told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour yesterday that when he was cast on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" earlier this summer, he went straight from staring at the ocean from his place on Martha's Vineyard to watching an autopsy in Las Vegas. We would have stayed on the Vineyard.

Oprah's Oscar Special 9 p.m., OWN Oprah Winfrey loves the Oscars, and her post-Academy Awards shows were always popular on her long-running daytime talker. This year she sits down with three nominees, including frontrunners Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, nominated for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively, for their work in "The Help. " Also receiving the Oprah treatment will be comic actor Jonah Hill, who got a best supporting actor nod for his more dramatic turn in "Moneyball.

Bill Clinton is happy to have celebrities call attention to his Clinton Foundation, but he's not above spoofing them, either. In a new Web video for the 10th anniversary of the Clinton Foundation, a coterie of stars performs as the foundation's airheaded "Celebrity Division. " Ben Stiller leads an unproductive fundraising brainstorming session with Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Kristen Wiig (wihg), Jack Black, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. The former president makes a cameo. The video was produced by Funny Or Die and will be posted on the site early Tuesday.

BEAN ★★ ½ (Max on Comcast) A little of Rowan Atkinson's eccentric British misfit goes a long way. But he survives this move from the small screen to the big one, playing a dimwitted museum guard accompanying a valuable painting to Los Angeles, where everyone assumes he's an art scholar. (PG-13; runs through Jan. 31) DEAD MAN WALKING ★★★ ½ (Max on Comcast) Susan Sarandon plays a nun forced to put her beliefs on the line, and Sean Penn plays a convicted rapist and murderer, in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

Bored to Death 9 p.m., HBO I have a lot of affection for this show, which doesn't get much recognition. It's a sly goof on the literary world of Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as the literary illusions of a young writer. The cast is fantastic, especially Jason Schwartzman at his deadpan-neurotic best and Ted Danson as a party-hearty editor dealing with aging. This isn't a laugh-a-minute comedy, so much as an intelligent charmer. Five 9 p.m., Lifetime This one is bound to be moving, in spite of its celebrity moves.

BEAN ★★ ½ (Max on Comcast) A little of Rowan Atkinson's eccentric British misfit goes a long way. But he survives this move from the small screen to the big one, playing a dimwitted museum guard accompanying a valuable painting to Los Angeles, where everyone assumes he's an art scholar. (PG-13; runs through Jan. 31) DEAD MAN WALKING ★★★ ½ (Max on Comcast) Susan Sarandon plays a nun forced to put her beliefs on the line, and Sean Penn plays a convicted rapist and murderer, in a performance that earned him his first Academy Award nomination.

Oprah's Oscar Special 9 p.m., OWN Oprah Winfrey loves the Oscars, and her post-Academy Awards shows were always popular on her long-running daytime talker. This year she sits down with three nominees, including frontrunners Viola Davis and Octavia Spencer, nominated for best actress and best supporting actress, respectively, for their work in "The Help. " Also receiving the Oprah treatment will be comic actor Jonah Hill, who got a best supporting actor nod for his more dramatic turn in "Moneyball.

The odd thing about "Help Me Help You" is the lack of a laugh track. Ted Danson's new series is written as a classically broad sitcom, with neurotic adults doing the zaniest things over and over again. You keep waiting for the jokes to be punctuated by prefabricated guffaws and Franken-cackles. But instead they are met with a high-risk Hollywood commodity: silence. The laughs are . . . gulp . . . left up to the viewers. But you probably won't be filling in the laugh gaps on "Help Me Help You," which premieres tonight at 9:30 on Channel 5. The show isn't a debacle, but it's a...

RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Chelsea Clinton last night wed her longtime boyfriend under extraordinary security at an elegant Hudson River estate. President Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in a statement that their daughter wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky after weeks of secrecy and buildup that had celebrity watchers flocking to the small village of Rhinebeck for the nuptials. The site of the wedding, a Beaux Arts riverside estate called Astor Courts, was sealed off from the general public.

The Globe's Matthew Gilbert chatted about TV with readers on Thursday on Boston.com. Here are excerpts. Q. How good has Jessica Lange been in "American Horror Story"? She is Ellen Burstyn in "Requiem for a Dream" good right now. Her performance has completely changed my thoughts about her. A. She has been deeply awesome. She brings Tennessee Williams to an otherwise fairly junky show. Love her. Check out the HBO version of "Grey Gardens. " She's great in that, too. However, you'll have to put up with Drew Barrymore.

Bill Clinton is happy to have celebrities call attention to his Clinton Foundation, but he's not above spoofing them, either. In a new Web video for the 10th anniversary of the Clinton Foundation, a coterie of stars performs as the foundation's airheaded "Celebrity Division. " Ben Stiller leads an unproductive fundraising brainstorming session with Matt Damon, Sean Penn, Kristen Wiig (wihg), Jack Black, Ted Danson and Mary Steenburgen. The former president makes a cameo. The video was produced by Funny Or Die and will be posted on the site...

Bored to Death 9 p.m., HBO I have a lot of affection for this show, which doesn't get much recognition. It's a sly goof on the literary world of Brooklyn and Manhattan, as well as the literary illusions of a young writer. The cast is fantastic, especially Jason Schwartzman at his deadpan-neurotic best and Ted Danson as a party-hearty editor dealing with aging. This isn't a laugh-a-minute comedy, so much as an intelligent charmer. Five 9 p.m., Lifetime This one is bound to be moving, in spite of its celebrity moves.

Actor Ted Danson told reporters at the Television Critics Association press tour yesterday that when he was cast on "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation" earlier this summer, he went straight from staring at the ocean from his place on Martha's Vineyard to watching an autopsy in Las Vegas. We would have stayed on the Vineyard.

RHINEBECK, N.Y. — Chelsea Clinton last night wed her longtime boyfriend under extraordinary security at an elegant Hudson River estate. President Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton announced in a statement that their daughter wed investment banker Marc Mezvinsky after weeks of secrecy and buildup that had celebrity watchers flocking to the small village of Rhinebeck for the nuptials. The site of the wedding, a Beaux Arts riverside estate called Astor Courts, was sealed off from the general public.